''Sai Lor Fah'' ( or ''Pattaya Maniac'') is a

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

Thai

crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a State (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definiti ...

comedy Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. Origins Comedy originated in ancient Greec ...

film written and directed by

Yuthlert Sippapak Yuthlert Sippapak (, born November 8, 1966) is a Thai film director, screenwriter, and producer. He is best known for his genre-blending films '' Killer Tattoo'' (comedy and action) and '' Buppah Rahtree'' (comedy and horror). Biography Yuthle ...

. Filmed on location in

Pattaya Pattaya is a city in Eastern Thailand, the second-largest city in Chonburi province and the List of municipalities in Thailand, eighth-largest city in Thailand. It is on the east coast of the Gulf of Thailand, about southeast of Bangkok, and h ...

,‘Sai lor fah’ shooting completed in Pattaya
''Pattaya Mail'', May 28- June 3, 2004. it is the story of friends who become mixed up in an escalating series of crimes.

Plot

Tun and Tao are friends who enjoy spending time together in

karaoke is a type of interactive entertainment system usually offered in nightclubs and bars, where people sing along to pre-recorded accompaniment using a microphone. Its musical content is an instrumental rendition of a well-known popular song. I ...

bars in

. Tao has the bad habit, however, of always singing a loud, off-key rendition of the Asanee-Wasan song "Sai Lor Fah" ("Lighting Rod"), which always results in Tao and his friends being thrown out of the club. Tao is dealer of

counterfeit A counterfeit is a fake or unauthorized replica of a genuine product, such as money, documents, designer items, or other valuable goods. Counterfeiting generally involves creating an imitation of a genuine item that closely resembles the original ...

DVDs, but his real vocation is

gambling Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of Value (economics), value ("the stakes") on a Event (probability theory), random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy (ga ...

and he frequently bets on

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

. He finally wins some money and decides to pay back a 100,000

baht The baht (; , ; currency sign, sign: ฿; ISO 4217, code: THB) is the official currency of Thailand. It is divided into 100 ''satang'' (, ). Prior to decimalisation, the baht was divided into eight ''fueang'' (, ), each of eight ''at'' (, ). The ...

loan from Tun and also treat Tun to a big night out at the city's finest karaoke club. At the club, the shy, portly Tun meets a young woman, Nok, shares a duet with her, and ends up taking her back to his house. The next morning, Nok disappears. It turns out she is the

mistress Mistress is the feminine form of the English word "master" (''master'' + ''-ess'') and may refer to: Romance and relationships * Mistress (lover), a female lover of a married man ** Royal mistress * Maîtresse-en-titre, official mistress of a ...

of Mee, a local crime kingpin, and Tao paid her for a one-time deal to sleep with his friend. Tun, a dealer in rare

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

amulet An amulet, also known as a good luck charm or phylactery, is an object believed to confer protection upon its possessor. The word "amulet" comes from the Latin word , which Pliny's ''Natural History'' describes as "an object that protects a perso ...

s, becomes obsessed with finding Nok. He gives the 100,000 baht he received from Tun to a

transvestite Cross-dressing is the act of wearing clothes traditionally or stereotypically associated with a different gender. From as early as pre-modern history, cross-dressing has been practiced in order to disguise, comfort, entertain, and express onesel ...

pimp Procuring, pimping, or pandering is the facilitation or provision of a prostitute or other sex worker in the arrangement of a sex act with a customer. A procurer, colloquially called a pimp (if male) or a madam (if female, though the term "pimp" ...

who might have a lead on Nok. Tun, meanwhile, is involved with crimes of his own, and has become beholden to Mee and a rival kingpin, Moo, who are both interested in obtaining a rare amulet that Tao has in his possession. In a complicated scheme, Tao ends up perpetuating the

kidnapping Kidnapping or abduction is the unlawful abduction and confinement of a person against their will, and is a crime in many jurisdictions. Kidnapping may be accomplished by use of force or fear, or a victim may be enticed into confinement by frau ...

of a wealthy American man's daughter, and holding her for 3 million baht ransom. Also, a shadowy female assassin has entered the picture to complicate matters.

Cast

Choosak Eamsuk Choosak Eamsuk or spelt Chusak Iamsuk (, nicknamed Nong), known professionally as Nong Cha-cha-cha (โหน่ง ชะชะช่า) is a famous Thai comedian, actor, and former dancer. Biography and career He was born in Ongkharak, Na ...

as Tun *

Somchai Kemglad Somchai Khemglad (), born 26 January 1974 in Bangkok, also familiarly known as Tao (เต๋า) or Tao Somchai, is a Thai actor and singer. Biography & career Kemglad was born into a poor Thai Mon family in Bangkok, he was raised by his gra ...

as Tao *

Pitchanart Sakakorn Pitchanart Sakakorn (, born 22 May 1981 in Bangkok, Thailand) is a Thai actress. Her starring film roles include ''Pattaya Maniac'', ''Buppah Rahtree Phase 2: Rahtree Returns'' and ''The Victim (2006 film), The Victim''. She has a bachelor's d ...

as Nok *

Somlek Sakdikul Somlek Sakdikul () (born, 10 November 1953) is a Thai film actor and musician. He is sometimes credited as Somchai Sakdikul. He portrayed "Suwat" or "Daddy", the lecherous music producer in Pen-Ek Ratanaruang's 2001 comedy, ''Monrak Transistor''. ...

as Moo *

Black Pomthong Black is a color that results from the absence or complete Absorption (electromagnetic radiation), absorption of visible spectrum, visible light. It is an achromatic color, without Colorfulness#Chroma, chroma, like white and grey. It is ofte ...

as Mee *

Petchtai Wongkamlao Petchtai Wongkamlao, (, , ; born 24 June 1965) is a Thai comedian, actor, martial artist and film director. He is best known in Thailand by his stage name, Mum Jokmok (, , ); and is a popular Thai television personality. He is credited as Mom Jo ...

Casting notes

(also known as Nong Cha Cha Cha) is a popular comedian and comic actor in Thailand. He was cast in the leading dramatic role, a trademark of director Yuthlert Sippapak. In a further role reversal,

, an actor who played the dramatic lead in Yuthert's debut film, ''

Killer Tattoo ''Killer Tattoo'' ( Thai: มือปืน/โลก/พระ/จัน ''Mue Puen/Lok/Phra/Chan'') is a 2001 Thai action comedy film written and directed by Yuthlert Sippapak. It was the debut film by Yuthlert, and also was the feature-film ...

'', was given the

comic relief Comic Relief is a British charity, founded in 1986 by the comedy scriptwriter Richard Curtis and comedian Sir Lenny Henry in response to the 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia. The concept of Comic Relief was to get British comedians to make t ...

role in ''Sai Lor Fah''.

References

* Williamson, Rob. September 2005
"Take it easy chicken: Yuthlert Sippapak interviewed
, ''Firecracker''.

Notes

External links

* {{Yuthlert Sippapak 2004 films 2004 crime comedy films GMM Tai Hub films Thai crime comedy films Thai-language films Films set in Pattaya 2000s Thai films